China and Russia are set to introduce a joint resolution to the United Nations Security Council calling for an end to a host of economic sanctions on the isolated regime.
Among the sanctions the two countries want lifted are a ban on North Koreans working overseas and sending home their earnings, exporting seafood and textiles and ending a cap on imports of refined petroleum.
The draft resolution, obtained separately by the Associated Press and Reuters, urges the 15-member Security Council to remove the sanctions “with the intent of enhancing the livelihood of the civilian population” of North Korea.
The U.N. first imposed sanctions on North Korea in 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which have grown even stronger with each test Pyongyang carries out in defiance of the international community and in spite of its worsening economic situation.
The draft resolution says lifting the sanctions “underscores the necessity to respect the legitimate security concerns of the DPRK, and ensure the welfare, inherent dignity, and rights of people in the DPRK.”
The resolution expands on one circulated by China and Russia in 2019 that was never introduced due to opposition by the United States and other Western nations.(VOA)
•PHOTO: UN Security Council
